How CDTA, bicycling, can improve your health

Two new studies, one from the United Kingdom and the other from the United States, show that commuters who took public transit or walked or bicycled to work instead of driving lost weight — an average of 2 lbs. over two years in the UK — and lowered their body mass index, according to a report in this morning’s Wall Street Journal.

Switching from driving to walking to a bus stop could improve the health of millions of commuters without requiring them to set foot in a gym, according to researchers quoted in the study.

More than three out of four commuters in the U.S. drive alone to work, the Journal reported, while 5 percent take mass transit and just 1 percent bike to work.

CDTA has equipped its buses with bicycle racks so that Capital Region commuters have the option of doing both. The Wall Street Journal report, which may be behind a paywall, is here.